Table 2.

Our dataset.

Type	Data
Germplasm resources	527 inbred lines for association mapping panel (AMP) with different populations (143 lines for NSS, non-stiff-stock; 33 for SS, Stiff-stock; 232 for TST, tropical and semitropical; and the left 119 are regarded as MIXED)
Transcriptome quantification	28,769a genes' quantitative expression of maize whole kernel (15 days after pollination, 15 DAP). Using Illumina high throughput sequencing technology, we get about 1 million 60 thousand high quality SNP markers and expression of 28,769 genes, which cover about 70% of the predicted genes in maize genome [4]
Phenotype data	5 kinds of carotenoid component phenotype data of 482 materials in association mapping panel: α-carotene (AC), β-carotene (BC), Lutein (LUT), Zeaxanthin (ZEA) and β-Cryptoxanthin (Bcry)

^aGenes filtered as expressed in >50% lines.